MBB: Centennial Conference

[givengo]

Dickinson's rankings have been at 14 preseason, 7 in week one and 12 in week two. I saw the Gettysburg game and watched the Bullets shoot the lights out.  They're long and athletic, and they were juiced for the game in Carlisle where Tanner Kirkpatrick (Cumberland Valley HS) played before a home town crowd.  He rose to the occasion, played a great game and they were the better team that night. They have talent.  I'm not a Princeton fan.  It makes me crazy,  but when it's run well it can wreak havoc, and it was one of those games where it looked like Dickinson mistakenly felt they had the game won before they walked onto the court. Most gym rats have witnessed games where the favored team never showed up to play.  Gettysburg gave them a wake up call.
My personal opinion remains that the Centennial is just as strong as it was last year.  Hopkins returned most of their team, Muhlenberg creates nightmares for many, F & M always puts a challenging squad on the floor, and Dickinson is really deep with 5 game ready freshmen added to a seasoned lineup. Add in factors like tough gyms (the Washington College sweatbox and the sunlight streaming into the Haverford gym) and it gives us all something to look forward to.   I myself am anxious to see F & M, Muhlenberg, and Hopkins play.
The thing about the Centennial is there are legendary coaches who know how to get the most out of their players, and coaches coaching against legendary coaches who have upped the ante considerably (McDaniel for one).  You don't get Elite 8 and final four teams without them having great competition week in and week out. The Dickinson performance of last season was a direct reflection on the strength of the conference. I think it will be a dog fight.

[Reserved Seat]

Ugly game at Mayser.  Haverford did not match up well with F&M.  F&M had too much height and fire power.  Moune, Lee, Owana, etc controlled the boards. 55/23 F&M had 4 players in double figures.  Moune 19  Federici 17  Figueroa 16 and Lee 12  Hunter and Figueroa didn't miss a shot.  For the Fords Sherman score 14.  F&M's defense continues to be intimidating. 

[centfan]

muhlenberg losing consistently, dickinson not dominant but good...they know how to win, f&m more athletes than other teams, hopkins solid with good coaching and now gettysburg in the mix. hard to be a g-rob fan (always has an annoying presence) but f&m seems like the team that presents the most potential problems for their opponents. 

[Reserved Seat]

Big win for Dickinson.

[Reserved Seat]

Tough game for F&M.  Coaches were worried about the players' conditioning after a week of limited practices due to numerous players with the flu.
Albright controlled the second half with their speed and athleticism.  The final stats were fairly similar, but Albright had no answer for Lee inside.  Lee lead all scorers with 28 points.  Benz came off the bench for Albright to lead their scoring with 17 points.  F&M's defense came up strong when needed. 

[givengo]

Big win for Dickinson.

It was a nice win for Dickinson.  North Central Ill is a strong team and the game stayed close, but it was always Dickinson's game to lose.  North Central had some nice guard play, and 44 was def their go to guy.  They had basic issues like lots of walks, some of which weren't called...  Dickinson was in control throughout, with the Red Devils clicking.  It was probably a good wake up, out of conference loss for North Central Ill.

[centfan]

where is everyone?...no posts since dec 14
reserved seat is carrying the ball alone!
hopefully, as we get deeper into the season, there will be more posts
happy holidays everyone

[Reserved Seat]

Good win by Hopkins over #13 Centre.

[Reserved Seat]

F&M held on for a tough game against Immaculata.  Immaculata's aggressive full court pressure keep from being able to put away the game.  Everytime F&M opened a double digit lead F&M would make a careless play and turn over the ball.  Immaculata lead in rebounding with the positioning of Mamadou.  Mamadou, also, lead Immaculata in scoring.  Federici lead F&M in scoring with 30 points.  Lee struggled to get off any shots from the floor.  Moune had difficulty scoring in the paint and had most of his points from the outside.  Wright had a good night except for when he was tripled team.   It should be an interesting game with Richard Stockton.  F&M will have to slow down the pace.

[D.B. Cooper]

Good points RS. F&M will need all their key players to perform well to have a chance against Stockton. I suspect they may fall today. The inability to limit turnovers and penchant shooting a lower % of free throws than field goals could prove too much to overcome vs Ospreys. RS should find a way to contain Federici so everyone else needs to step up. I think Dips would have had a rough time with Lynchburg will their ability to use pressure and make 3's.

The CC has been looking good against out of conference teams more so than in many years. Very glad to see it down to SWAT being much better than I thought. Massey ranks CC teams: Dickinson, F&M, JHU, McDaniel, Gburg, Muhls & SWAT. Hard to disagree at this point.

Interestingly Massey predicted  a near perfect Stockton-Lynchburg score of 64-62 (actual 62-60). Extrapolating Ospreys would be similar 2 point favorites against Dips on a neutral site. I'm not sure what they adjust for the home team but I would guess about 2.5 points. Which would mean a toss up (possible OT). As I said that would slightly surprise me. Dips having lost a starter for the season will need to use their depth even more. I think Richard Stockton has a 67% chance to win but the margin is very random.

[Reserved Seat]

academics come first

[Reserved Seat]

F&M stunned Stockton despite a furious rally by Stockton in the second half.  F&M opened an 18 point lead at the half with solid defense and great 3 point shooting.  Federici followed up his 30 point game on Saturday with 29 on Sunday.  Morgan Lee had a great game after an off night on Saturday. 
The second was a lot of helter skelter defense by Stockton and a bombs away offense.  Stockton tried to play too much individual ball instead of team offense--assist 8 to 15.  Turnovers and rebounds were fairly even.  Moune fought hard on the boards to lead the teams with 10.

[CCD3Basketball]

Very impressed with how F&M has looked so far this year. Did not see them being undefeated at this point. It's not very often we see one of coach Robinson's teams being "overlooked" sort of speak when the season started, with all of the attention on Dickinson (rightfully so) and JHU to start the year. Federici is just what they needed.

Also, congrats to Gerry Wixted for becoming Dickinson's all-time leading scorer over the weekend. Curious to see how they respond to an early 6pm game this Wednesday night at WAC following a 3+ hour bus ride.

Gearing up for exclusive conference play and can't wait!

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Very impressed with how F&M has looked so far this year. Did not see them being undefeated at this point. It's not very often we see one of coach Robinson's teams being "overlooked" sort of speak when the season started, with all of the attention on Dickinson (rightfully so) and JHU to start the year. Federici is just what they needed.

Also, congrats to Gerry Wixted for becoming Dickinson's all-time leading scorer over the weekend. Curious to see how they respond to an early 6pm game this Wednesday night at WAC following a 3+ hour bus ride.

Gearing up for exclusive conference play and can't wait!

I'm going to try and be at the game Wednesday.  I'm 35 minutes from Washington College and I can't miss this chance to get a look at them.  I went to the big WAC upset of F&M last year (which precipitated their fall to earth, poll-wise).  That F&M team was a mess - beyond hope.  I'll be anxious to see what they look like in February when they come to town.

[Reserved Seat]

F&M fell apart early last year when Early(no pun intended) went down 6 minutes into the season, plus you had several players who only played for themselves.